Lahat ng Kabanata ng FOR HER SAKE: Kabanata 71 - Kabanata 80

Amelia’s POVThe first thing I noticed when I woke up was the silence. Not the city kind of silence that I had slowly become used to, just the thick kind that came from old walls, creaky floors, and a place you’ve hardly been before. The second thing I noticed was that Gabriel wasn’t in his room. His connecting door was cracked open, but the room was empty.I sat back down slowly on the bed, rubbing the grit from my eyes. The oversized shirt he’d given me slipped off one shoulder, and the smell of him clung faintly to the fabric, cigarette smoke and something metallic. It irritated me how much comfort I pulled from it.I pushed the thought away, shoved my feet into the slippers Manny had left out, and stepped into the hallway.He was downstairs in the dining room, leaning over the counter, a steaming bowl in the front of him. Manny was on the other side, scolding him about something.“You never eat,” she was saying. “That’s why you look like a broom with anger issues.”Gabriel snorte

Amelia’s POVThe phone sat on the bed for about thirty minutes after Gabriel left.It was a black, small, ugly thing. It buzzed once, then again, rattling against the sheets like it knew I was watching.Kelvin’s name didn’t show on the screen, but I didn’t feel like I needed confirmation. I dragged my hand down my face and exhaled. Do I pick? Or should I just ignore it? I hated that my chest tightened at all, hated that my pulse leapt like a teenager just at the thought of it being him.I didn’t move. Just stared at it until the buzzing stopped.The silence that followed felt even louder. Even the rustling in Gabriel’s room seemed to have stopped. “Not picking up?” Gabriel’s voice broke into the quiet. My head jerked up. He was leaning in the doorway, an unlit cigarette between his lips, his hand braced against the frame like he’d been standing there long enough to enjoy the show.“I thought you went to bed. Were you just watching me? ” I snapped. “Mm.” He nodded, smug. “You’re mor

Amelia’s POVThe car hummed low on the highway, the tires eating up miles of gray asphalt. I hadn’t realized how far we’d gone until the city lights shrank to a smear in the rearview mirror. Out here, the silence was the loudest thing I could hear, echoed by the trees at the sides of the roads that went on for miles.Gabriel hadn’t said a word in almost thirty minutes. His hands sat loose on the wheel, but his jaw was locked tight with his profile rigid. He glanced outside the window almost every minute with this calm reminiscing look.I stared at him for a little too long. “You could at least try not to look like you’re driving us to our funeral.”His mouth ticked like he was fighting a grin. “Who says I’m not?”“Not funny.”He flicked his eyes my way, his smirk going higher. “I bet the lip gloss I have in my pocket you laughed in your head.”I scoffed, turning to the window. “You don’t know what goes on in my head.”“I know you’re thinking about him.” His tone shifted to something l

Amelia’s POVBy the time Gabriel pulled the car into a fuel station, I already had the ledger pages I needed tucked into the lining of my bag. I was going to make copies of them as soon as possible and return back to my life. I finally had something worth holding over Mateo’s head, and I was not going back crawling like I had before.Gabriel’s phone buzzed again in my hand, he had left it with me since we left his parents’ house, and as usual, it was Kelvin. His name flashed over and over until I switched it to silent. He had made his choices, and for once, I was not going to let him dictate mine.I was twisting the burner in my hand when an unknown number name came up. My chest tightened and I contemplated picking the call. I glanced at Gabriel who was filling the gas and ignored the call. It came in again immediately after with a text that said, ‘It’s Ruby, you idiot. Pick.” I almost let out a laugh as I picked up the call. “Gabriel?” her voice burst through, shaky with relief, b

Amelia’s POVEveryone froze for a beat, and for once, even Vasquez didn’t speak first. The only sound was Rafael’s impatient tapping against the glass of water in his hands.I leaned back in my chair, resting my hand on my bag. “Fine. You want this over with? Then let’s talk business.”Mateo’s eyes snapped to me. “Business? Is that what you think this is?”“That’s exactly what it is,” I said smoothly. “The ledger you so much wanted for leverage. My company contract would be continued and hell, I may even ask you for your investment. You scratch my back, I don’t expose the empire you’ve spent decades building on blood and narcotics.”Vasquez finally sat forward, folding his hands with amusement on his face. “You’ve grown bold, haven’t you Amelia?”I shrugged. “You’d have to grow teeth to feed with the wolves no?”Rafael scoffed. “You think anyone would believe you if you dropped this? Even if you had the ledgers?”“Would you like to try me then, Rafael?” I shot back. “I’ve got journali